How to Become a Licensed Insurance Agent?

What Do I Need to do to Become Licensed?

Becoming an insurance agent is not a complicated process when working with a licensing school (like CPMI) and your choice of insurance company. Both the licensing school and insurance company you will be working for are excellent sources of information to help walk you through the process of becoming an agent.

• Individuals need to be at least 18 years of age.
• Although each state has it's own licensing requirements, individuals in all states must pass a comprehensive licensing exam.
• Agent candidates are generally required to be fingerprinted.
• You will need to complete the license application and pay the required fees.

Preparing for the Licensing Exam

Check to see what the pre-licensing requirements are in your state. This information will be available from your state's Department, Division, or Bureau of Insurance (the agency in charge of the regulation of individuals interested in becoming insurance agents). In many cases the manager helping you get started in the insurance business will know what your state requires. Some states require that you attend a class; some that you take a state approved or state certified pre-licensing course, including a course completion exam; and some states have no state pre-licensing requirement. When your state has a pre-licensing requirement it is important that you take all the necessary steps to complete those requirements.

A state pre-licensing requirement will make a difference in how long it will take you to prepare for the exam to become an insurance agent and how much that preparation will cost. If you live in a state that requires you to take a class this will cost more than if you live in a state that has no pre-licensing requirement. If you need to take a pre-licensing course completion test you will need to pass this test before you can take the state licensing exam. In any case you will need up-to-date study materials, and study materials that are concise and easy to understand so that you will be able to master the content as quickly as possible.

Study carefully for the state exam. The insurance exams are detailed, and there's a lot of information to understand and remember. You will need to allow sufficient time to study the material so that you know it well.

Check your state's exam content outline to see the format of the exam. In about half the states the insurance basics information and the law information are two separate exams. And you have to get a passing score on both the insurance basics exam and on the related law exam to pass. Passing the test and becoming an insurance agent is about knowing the material thoroughly. Being familiar with the exam format and point allocation of the exam helps you to know where to focus your study time.

Getting Your Insurance License

After you receive your passing results, you will need to file the license application, and any other necessary paperwork, and pay the required fees to get your insurance license and become an insurance agent.

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